Accessory container for railway use



March 8, 1927.

F. P. MILLER ACCESSORY CONTAIER FOR RAILWAY VUSE Filed July 17. 1925March 8 1927.

F. P. MILLER ACCESSORY CONTAINER FOR RAILWAY USE Filed Julbr 17,v 1925A3 Sheets-Sheet 2 F. PJMlLLER ACCESSORY CONTAINER FOR RAILWAY USE 4 March8 y Filed July 1v, 1925 s sheets-sheet s Patented Mar. 8, 1927".

UNITED STATES FRANK r'. MILLER, er eIIICAGof, ILLINOIS.

AoeEs'soRY CONTAINER ron'- RAILWAY ssn.

Application filed' .Tilly 1`7, 1925.

This application relates to' improvements in accessory container lforrailway use, and refers more particularly to a unitary constructiontaking' the form of a container adapted to' carry various signal andsafety appliances and accessories used by the ern'- ployees ofrailroads, particularly by brakemen and lagm'en. j j n The rules andregulations governing the operation of railroads' require that certain'signal and safety appliances' and accessories' must ,be provided forthe' use o1 brakemen and lagmen, such as the` red' flag", danger lightsand torches, torpedoes', matches' and the like. These accessories areinconvenient to carry, because it is diilic'ul-t to? distribute themAin'l the pockets or clothes it frequently happens that the articlerequired is missing when the emergency' arises for its use. This isparticularly true in rainy' Weather and at night. Oitenti-mes, an'vemployee will be using a lantern and daylight comesbefore theemergencyis over, and he is without his red flag.y Torpedoes beingsmall, are lost through holes in pocket'smor fall out when the carrierbends over. The sharp points on the signal'` torches tear the clothesand sometimes inflict physical injury to the carrier. i Y Y To overcomethe above cliliculties and many others, I have conceived acontainertaking the form of an elongated tube divided into compartments, landhaving its ends closed by `removable caps. The red Hag and signal lightsare kept in separate compartments of the tube; torpedoes may be kept inone end closed by the cap; r-uatches or other small accessories may bekept in the other end. j y j Various other objects and advantages willbeapparent from the following description. ln the drawings:

l is an exterior plan view of the appliance. y j

v Fig. 2 isy a cross sectional view taken onv line2-*2 ofV Fig. l,looking inthe direction of the arrows. I

Fig.. 3 is an enlarged view of one end einen Fig-s. l and 5 are'respectively cross sec# tional views taken on lines 4.-4 and 5-5 ofFigi.- 3, look-ing in the direction of the arrows.

serial' No; 44,168.

Fig. 6 is across sectional view taken on line 6 6 of F ig. l.

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view line 7 7 of F 2.

Fig. S is side' elevational view of one form of adjustable flag stalliand flag.y

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the construction shown'i-n Fig. 8.

Fig. l0 is a side elevational view of another formof' adjustable flagstaff and Hag.

Fig. 1l is an eijilarged sectional view showing the adjustableconstruction shown inFig. l0.

Fig. 12 is a cross sectional View talenr on line l2v-l`2 ofvv Fig. ll.

Referring in detail to the drawings,- 1 des`- ignates as a whole thecontainer which is preferably cylindrical in formhaving endclosing caps.The container comprises a hollow cylindrical tube 2' having the inte;graliy formed outwardly extending e-reu-rn--y i'erential ribsor flanges3 substantially `1m meda'tely adjacentthe ends. The tube may bei of castaluminum or other non-rusting metal, it being desirableI to com-bineinthe container maximum strength'with minimum weight. A dividingpartition pla-tel 4 is in; serted in the grooves eb extendinglongitudinally of the tube, said partition dividing taken on theinterior of the tube into c'on-ipartmen-tsf.-v

It is understood that any number olf comlpartments may be provided byincreasing the number of partition plates 4. One 'end oi' the tubejisclosed by means of the` plate 6 and auxiliary Hang-ed plate 61 where the`latter is desirable, plate 6 being preferably lnjadeintegraly with thetube. This end ot' `the device is adapted to be closed by theremovable'eap 7' having ring 8, the latter connecting with ring 9 on one lendlefcha-in l0. The opposite en'd' of chain l() has ring 11, adapted toconnect `withrin'g 12' on the tube 2. It' will be readily seenthat whenthe capI 7 i's removed" from the end of the device, that it will not belost, dueV to the anchoring' chain 10. TheV cap may belocked in position' on' the end el the' tube 2 by means of the pin 13 protruding fromthe surface' of the end of the tube registering' with angled slot 14 onthe capk Torpedoes designated 15- lnay be placed inl the compartmentformed on the end of the tube 'ustnde'scribed-, this end of' the devicebeing eld upright when the cap is taken ofi' to prevent torpedoes fromfalling out. It is understood, of course, that small appliances otherthan torpedoes may be kept in this end of the device, and the use oftorpedoes is merely illustrative.

Referring now to the opposite end of the device, it will be instantlynoted that this end is formed dierently from the other, not being closedby closure plates similar to 6 and 6, but is left entirely open. Thisend is closed by the closure cap 16 having ring 17 connected with a freering 18 attached to one end of a chain 19. The other end of chain 19 hasa similar free ring 2O connected with ring 21 protruding from theIsurface of the tube. The cap 16 is provided with the angled slot 22adapted to register with pin 23 on the end of the tube to loclr said capon that end. The circumferential ribs 3 prevent excess inward movementof the caps 7 and 16 on the ends.

The cap 16 may be provided with the outer closure plates 24. and 25mounted in the interior thereof. The outer plate 25 is preferablycentrally apertured as shown at 26. Tn the separate compartments formedby the partition plate 4: are adapted to be inserted from the free endof the tube the flagstaff and flag designated as a whole v27 and the redsignal torches 28.

Describing now Vmore in detail the construction shown in Figs. 3 to 6,in the compartment formed betwe-en the plates 24e and 25 is adapted tobe inserted the metal box 29 which is a three sided substantiallyrectangular box having an open top. The front of the box is providedwith the flanged extensions as shown at 30 in Fig. 5, which preferablyconform in shape with the shape of the cap, setting in the grooved faceof the cap so that the front faces of the flanged extensions are flushwith the wall of the cap, the wall of said cap being provided, ofcour-se, with the opening into which the boxl is inserted. The frontportion of the box is provided with the knob handle 31 to facilitate themovement of the box. The upper end of the front end of the box isprovided with the forwardly facing flange 32 dished on its upper surfaceas shown at 33 to register with the locking stud 34E held under springtension by coil spring 35. A hollow housing 36 is provided, preferablyas an integral part of the upper end of the cap 16 in which the spring35 and stud 34 are mounted. The front face of this housing is slotted asshown at 36 to allow for movement of the pin 37 screw threaded on thestud 34. This pin and slot arrangement prevents the stud 34 and Spring35 from dropping into the box 29 when the latter is withdrawn. A lug 38is screw threaded into the bottom of the box 29 which is adapted whenthe box is withdrawn to abut against thefront wall closing the opening26, preventing the box from being entirely withdrawn. The ad vantage ofthis feature will be instantly apparent. The match box can be readilyopened or closed; in open position, means are provided for preventingthe box from being entirely withdrawn and the box or matches lost; andin closed position, it is securely locked.

Describing now the collapsible flag-staff, it is preferably made in twopieces, an elongated solid stem 39 of restricted cross sectional widthor diameter is adapted to be slid into and out of the telescoping sleeve40. ln the construction shown in Figs. 8 and Si, a screw lf preferablyhaving an enlarged head is threaded to the stein 39, said lug beingadapted to register with the elongated slot 42 in the telescoping sleeve40. The arrangement is such that stem is adapted to Islide freely intoand out of the sleeve, but is prevented from being entirely withdrawn.It is impossible therefore, for the stem to be accidentally displacedentirely from the sleeve holder. The flag 43 may be attr-.cheri by meansof the rings 4A at both ends of the flag, and preferably at anintermediate point as shown, by attaching the outer end of the flag tothe outer end of the stein at point 5, to an intermediate point 46 onthe stem, and the inner end of the flag at the point i7 on the sleeve.Rings l5 and 47. are iixedly attached respectively to the stein andsleeve, whereas ring 46 is movable on the stein. When it is desired topush the stem into the sleeve, the movable ring f6 slides forward on thestem, and the flag is drawn together in plait form to the position shownin dotted lines in Fig. 8. The flag is then folded around the upper partof the sleeve and is ready to be placed in one compartment of thecontainer.

A slightly modified form of construction is shown in Figs. 10 to 12. Theforward end of the sleeve 4l() is provided with longitudinal slots 48and may taper inwardly in an outward direction, shown clearly in thecross section shown in -Fig. ll. The sleeve may be externally screwthreaded as shown at 4-9 adapted to register with the internal screwthreaded portion 50 on the tightening nut 51. By rotating the nut 51 anddecreasing or increasing the width of the slots 48, the degree offriction tension between the stem and sleeve can be carefullycontrolled. Thus it is possible to loclr the stem in the sleeve inextended as well as inoperative position.

A strap 52 having clamps or rings 53 may be attached to the rings 12 and21 to assist in carrying the container, which can be slung over theshoulder and out of the way, allowing freedom for the hands for carryinga lantern and the like. One use for the matches in box 29 is forlighting the signal lantern. Where electric lanterns are used,

lll)

batteries may be carried in box 29. Fuses for electrical use may becarried in the compartinent which has been illustrated as containingtorpedoes. y

The container as shown in Figs. l and 2 is very light and is constructedentirely of metal. rIhe filled container is adapted to be hel-d in placein a car in a horizontal position between spring tensioned clamps.

- I claim as my invention:

l. In a railway appliance, the co-mbination with an elongated tubeinternally divided into longitudinal compartments by a longitudinalpartition element, said tube having a closed end and an open end, andremovable caps adapted to have engagement with both the open and closedends of the tube.

2. In a railroad appliance, the combination with an elongated hollowcontainer interiorly divided into longitudinal compartments having oneclosed end formed by a closure element and an open end, of removableclosure caps adapted to close both ends of the container, said containerhaving a continuation beyond the closure element, providing an auxiliarycompartment for hol-ding small accessories for railroad use.

3. In a railway appliance, the combination with an elongated tubeinternally divided into longitudinal compartments by a longitudinalpartition element, said tube having a closed end .and an open end, andremovable caps adapted to have engagement with both the open and closedends of the tube, one of said caps being provided with means whereby itserves as an .auxiliary compartment for holding small accessories.

4. In a railroad appliance, the combination with an elongated hollowcontainer interiorly divided into longitudinal compartments having oneclosed end formed by a closure element and an open end, of removableclosure caps adapted to close both ends of the container, said containerhaving a continuation beyond the closure element, providing an auxiliarycompartment for holding small accessories for railroad use, and amovable container in the cap closing the opposite end adapted to containsmall accessories.

5. A collapsible stad for railroad signal flags, comprising a sleeve anda stem movable therein, of means fixed both to the stein and to thesleeve to which portions of a signal flag are attach-ed, an elementmovable on the stem between the said fixed means .also attached to theflag at intermediate portions thereof, means for preventing the stemfrom being withdrawn entirely from the sleeve, including means forlocking the stem in the sleeve in either extended or telescopedposition.

6. A collapsible staff for railroad signal flags, comprising a sleeveand a stem movable therein, of means fixed both to the stem and to thesleeve to which portions of a signal fiag are attached, an elementmovable on the stem between the said fixed means also attached to theflag at intermediate por- FRANK P. MILLER.

